Caritas warns that recognised refugees need more support

Following a study on the integration of recognised refugees, Luxembourg's Caritas warns that asylum seekers need more support once their refugee status has officially been recognised.

28.09.2012

(CS) Following a study on the integration of recognised refugees, Luxembourg's Caritas warns that asylum seekers need more support once their refugee status has officially been recognised.

Yves Schmidt, in charge of solidarity and integration services, commented that getting their official papers was not the end of a journey for asylum seekers, but rather the beginning of a new phase in their lives. This phase, he pointed out, held many challenges, from finding a job and housing, to making new friends in the country.

While the “Office Luxembourgeois de l'Accueil et de l'Intégration” (OLAI) and the ministry do their best to accommodate asylum seekers while their files are being processed, which can take up to three or four years, there is little help to guide refugees into this new phase of their life in Luxembourg, he said.

Schmidt added that there was a need to re-think how refugees were welcomed in the country, whether they are just a number, one of many, or seen as individuals with different backgrounds and needs.

Helping refugees adjust to day-to-day life

Especially the practicalities of everyday life, he said, were often a barrier towards better integration. For families with children these include an understanding of the local school system, but also on a more general level informing refugees of the political landscape in the country but also on a communal level.

Schmidt said it was important to help refugees to overcome fear of a strange country with different customs and ways things are done, especially when the background of recognised refugees is often one of political turmoil and trauma.

Caritas suggests the introduction of a tutor, who will accompany individuals or families getting settled in the country once they have received their official papers.

On the whole, though, the study actually paints quite a positive picture already.

Hard way to happiness

Some 18 percent of respondents who were granted refugee status between 2000 and 2009 have in the meantime acquired Luxembourg nationality. And while a majority of refugees arrived alone in the country, around 32 percent of those who arrived along now live with their family, which either joined them from abroad or which they built here in the country.

Additionally, over 80 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with the quality of life and felt at home here.

However, the road to happiness in Luxembourg was not an easy one for many. Problems of language were cited by most respondents, and while 70 percent are employed, in many cases they had to abandon their former careers, re-train and work below their level of schooling and qualification.

A whopping 68 percent of single refugees meanwhile have a monthly income of less than 1,500 euros, with the vast majority of families living on well below 3,000 euros a month.

The welcome and integration of refugees has already improved a lot, Schmidt concluded. With this being the first time that a study has been conducted to catch up recognised refugees, Caritas does hope, however, that action will follow words and that lessons will be learned from the experiences of those who have already undertaken the journey to make Luxembourg their home.